Hank Henderson
History Hank Henderson 1981 - 2015 Henry “Hank” Henderson and his two brothers (twin brother Mark and adopted younger brother Chris) are the last surviving heirs of Warren Knight, founder of the Knight Media empire. As such, the brothers grew up in luxury. At a young age, Hank grew bored of his silver spoon lifestyle and wanted to give back and be of service to his community. Hank volunteered at a number of charities and was a regular at soup kitchens and hospitals in Star City. After his high school graduation, Hank enlisted in the Army and due to connections and a high score on his aptitude tests, Hank was chosen for the U.S. Special Ops. Due to his determination and physical fitness, he was sent to DELTA Force for training. Hank spent a total of eight years in DELTA Force. Upon his return home, he had a minor falling out with his brother, Mark, but remained close with Chris. Needing space from Mark, he moved across the country to attend college (thanks to the GI Bill) at Gotham University, studying Mechanical Engineering. Having developed an interest in martial arts, from his time in DELTA Force, Hank continued to pursue this passion. He took classes from the legendary Wildcat Gym in Gotham City, where he honed his fighting skills and mastered Brazilian Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Boxing, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Krav Maga, Capoeira and Judo. While he got good grades in college and eventually earned a Masters, he felt that a career in that field may present him with a dead end. Due to his time in the military and his new Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Hank secured a job in the Blüdhaven field office of ARGUS as a field operative and occasional weapons designer. Not long after, he transferred back to Star City after his adopted brother was hospitalized after being assaulted by a street gang. After fashioning himself a costume to strike back at the street-level criminals in Star City, Hank took on the name of Cerberus.Operator Files: Hank Henderson (1/2) Cerberus: 2015 - Present After debuting in a one man war against the Hyde Park Crew, the gang responsible for Chris’ assault, Hank continued his personal vendetta against crime. As this became an extended campaign, Hank purchased a comfortable house with a personal gym and workshop. Here, he could stay in shape and design his own non-lethal arsenal in order to aid his nocturnal activities. Within a few months, Hanks brothers, Chris and Mark, began to have suspicions that he was Cerberus. As a cover story, Hank told them he was competing in amateur mixed-martial arts tournaments. Eventually, to make it hold up, he actually signed up for a fight circuit and found it a useful hobby. It helped him hone his skills against other capable opponents that were closer to his own level. He even got a coach to help him develop his own style. Eventually, lying to the two of them was something he just couldn’t do and he had to spill his secret. After word kept getting around of this masked vigilante fighting like a “hell hound”, Star City’s own Green Arrow confronted him and tested his abilities in an impromptu contest of skills. They began stumbling on the same crimes and fought side-by-side as allies. After a few months of this, the Green Arrow revealed himself to Hank as Oliver Queen in a private meeting. Here, he invited him to be a member of Team Arrow. Operator Files: Hank Henderson (2/2) After almost a year on Team Arrow, Ollie nominated Cerberus to membership in the Justice League. On both teams, Cerberus has proven himself to be an exemplary member, being one of the best trainers in hand-to-hand combatant. Shortly after his admittance into the Justice League, Hank was also contacted by the Monitor and recruited into service as a member of the Challengers. There he was joined by Lauren Drake and Michael Walsh, as well as his antagonistic new friend, Arkham X. UPDATE Hank Henderson was Erased from Continuity during the reboot. Powers and Abilities Powers * Artifact: '''Hank has been chosen to join the ranks of a secret team hand-picked by the mysterious Monitor based on some metaphysical element in him that will be of some considerable use in some confrontation in the future. Abilities * '''Covert Ops/Military Training: As an elite member of Delta Force, Hank is almost super-humanly skilled in all forms of special operations including but not limited to Mercenary Works, Counterintelligence, Black Propaganda, Counter-Terrorism, Guerrilla Warfare, Direct Action, Counterinsurgency, Assassination, Close Target Reconnaissance, Unconventional warfare, and so forth. He attained this mastered through special training and mental conditioning, making use of his combined high intellect and a high level of physical acumen to create a quasi-super solider. Hank's experience of special operations is highly diversified, including but not limited to reconnaissance and surveillance in hostile environments, training and development of other states' military and security forces, offensive action, sabotage, demolition, and high-stakes hostage rescue. * Martial Arts: Hank is a practical virtuoso when it comes to fighting, particularly in one-on-one fighting conditions. Though he has a very eclectic fighting style and is constantly integrating new techniques into his regimen of tactical maneuvers, he has formally studied and mastered seven styles: Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Wing Chun Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Krav Maga, Tae Kwon Do, and Judo. * Mechanical Engineering: Hank is a skilled mechanic and engineer, having studied professionally. * Peak Physical Condition: Hank's bodily functions have been trained to the near-pinnacle of human conditioning; therefore, his strength, speed, stamina, senses, agility, reflexes, accuracy, durability, recovery, flexibility and combat skills are at remarkably superb levels, but are in no way enhanced. Hank is strong enough to punch an individual through a wooden or thin-metal door; able to break thin steel bars with his bare hands; fast enough to catch-up or outrun moving vehicles over short distances; and able to recovery from severe injuries in less than half the time a regular person might require. It goes without saying to retain this level of performance, Hank spends a lot of time in gym, honing his body. * Wealth: Hank is independently wealthy. Though he is in no way rich enough to be compared to Oliver Queen or Bruce Wayne, money is not a concern he has to deal with. Paraphernalia * Arsenal: Hank utilizes a number of non-lethal gadgets and restraints in his crime-fighting arsenal. These include taser pellets, bolas, high-density handcuffs, and sedative darts. He also uses special flash bang grenades called 'Hellfire Bombs' that have a dash of Fear Gas to briefly cause those in the blast radius to panic and become incredibly disoriented. * Stealth Armor: Hank's suit is a high-density armored fabric with Kevlar plating integrated with a sound reducing weave allowing him to retain his mobility and move about without causing excess noise. His mask has countermeasures to avoid being incapacitated by Hellfire Bombs. He has recently installed increased ear protection to allow him to better coordinate assaults with Lauren Drake and Dinah Lance. Weaknesses * Arrogant: Though in no way intentional, Hank is inclined to social exclusiveness and can often absentmindedly rebuff the advances of people from lower social statuses or ability. * Blunt: Hank has a certain directness in his manner and speech. Often not one to mince words or use subtlety or evasion. In other words, he is frank, callous, insensitive, brusque. * Bum Knee: Hank took some shrapnel to the leg once, leaving him with a wicked scar and some significant damage to the joint. Though he has mended the injury quite well, if someone is aware of this injury or Hank takes a blow in just the wrong way, he can be put out of the fight and left screaming in agony until medical attention is rendered. * Perfectionist: Hank has a propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards. He expects a lot out of people, but he is most likely ten times harder on himself. Trivia and Notes Trivia * Cerberus joined the Justice League in 2017 nominated by Green Arrow. * Hank is a fan of science fiction, anime and martial arts films. * Hank is a demanding, though patient teacher of martial arts. Every other weekend, he teaches inner city kids in Star City self-defense at the local youth center down the street from his apartment. * Hank is a practitioner of Zen Buddhism and Tai Chi. * Hank's top ten favorite movies are: Ghostbusters, Real Genius, Ip Man, The Matrix, The Star Wars Trilogy, Boondock Saints, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Akira and Game of Death. * Hank has a mild fear (he says 'aversion') to small dogs, such as chihuahuas. He calls them ankle-biters and will not tolerate them being near him, often keeping them at bay with his feet or tossing them into a room and shutting the door. * Hank's facial scar has been with him since his military day, possibly before. I cannot verify where it came from. Hank himself has been known to tell different stories concerning how he got it. He seems to enjoy seeing what stories people will believe. * Hank always keeps knick-knacks in his pockets. At any given time, he usually has bottle caps, paper clips, bobby pins, rubber bands, and at least three different kinds of coins. Though he will claim these are useful to have on him, I think he just likes to play with them when he's bored. * Hank always carries his trusty multi-tool on him. * I don't know if Hank has an imaginary friend or what, but when he's alone and trying to sort something out, he often talks to himself as though he were talking to someone name 'Harv'. I wonder if this a friend he lost in the military, but have yet to find someone matching this description in Hank's military records, though granted most of them are classified. * Hank has a serious aversion to feet. It's like an anti-fetish. He is revolted by the smell of feet and will ask barefooted people to put socks on. Hank owns no sandals or flip-flops. * Hank is one of those guys who buys the newest Smart Glass phones even though the last model came out just seven months ago.Deluxe Oracle File: Hank Henderson Notes * Cerberus/Hank is an original character owned by MercyInk87. * This character was retired due to the launch of his own independent comic series. Links and References * Appearances of Hank Henderson Category:Original Characters Category:MercyInk87/Creator Category:Erased From Continuity Category:Candidates for deletion